Never Letting it Go
by babyevilregal
Summary: For RedQueen Week. When the curse is broken Ruby seeks out Regina for help during the first full moon, fearing that nothing short of a powerful magic practitioner could keep Storybrooke safe from her wolf. Fur.


_As Emma kissed Henry's forehead, bright light erupted and cascaded over the town._

XxXxXx

Inside Granny's diner Ruby was taking a order with a smile, clad in her red shorts and white shirt. The brunette had just began to write down the order, the smile still on her face, when suddenly her memories returned to her. Her life in the Enchanted Forest filled her head, memories flashing behind her eyes and overwhelming her mind momentarily.

She let out a gasp and dropped her pen as the smile fell from her face. Everyone in the diner ran from the building to find their loved ones they'd been separated from. The young woman turned just in time to be pulled into a hug by Granny.

"The curse is broken, Pup! We have our memories again!"

The statement should have filled her with joy. She should be rejoicing with every other citizen in the town; they finally broke the Evil Queen's curse. That was a good thing, right? It should have been but all she felt was dread; knowing she would be turning the next full moon.

She felt the wolf within her rise, purring excitedly at the thought of running once again; but she pushed it down. She couldn't turn on the full moon, she would kill someone like last time. Ruby hugged her Granny, plastering a fake smile on her face before running from the Diner.

Who could she go to? There were only two powerful magic practitioners in this town; Rumplestiltskin and The Evil Queen. _No_ , her mind yelled, _Regina_. Ruby had interacted with the feisty brunette for 28 years and she had never harmed her in any way; not even by casting the curse. The curse was Ruby's blessing and though many couldn't see it, that didn't mean that it hadn't brought them some good.

Her only option was taking the risk of being fireballed so she could talk to Regina. She ran to the white mansion, her hair cascading behind her as she sped past people and places she'd gotten very familiar with in the last 28 years. Now she could smell everything, the salty scent of the ocean, the sweet smell of coconut shampoo, the smell of sticky cinnamon buns from the nearby bakery; everything.

As she arrived to the great white house a mob stood outside, most of them holding a weapon of some sort. Ruby easily caught Regina's scent of sweet apples and cinnamon and shoved her way through the angry mob. Once she got to the front she saw Whale with his hands around her neck. _How dare he put his filthy hands on her,_ she thought unconsciously. The she-wolf pounced forward and ripped the man's hands from the Queen's neck furiously and shoved him back, hard.

Whale stumbled and fell into the mob of people. Once he had regained his footing he made a move forward but was stopped as Ruby let out a loud growl. She had unconsciously taken a protective stance in front of the brunette queen.

"You all call yourselves heroes, but if anything you're villains. I'm sure Regina is such a villain. She sent us to a world where you had good clothing, shelter, human interaction, jobs, heating, plumbing, electricity. Half of you were peasants struggling to feed your families but here you had all the money and food you needed. She could have made each and every once of you trash workers, you could have had no money or no food. It all could have been so much worse!" She exclaimed to the crowd.

Nobody dared to speak, knowing that the woman had point. "Now I suggest you get out of here and leave her alone, or you'll have me to deal with." Ruby growled out.

Shock was evident on everyone's faces, including Regina's. She hadn't been expecting for anyone to come to her aid and defend her so passionately. As the crowd dispersed, the young woman in front of her lost her protective stance, shoulders slumping and muscles loosening. Ruby just seemed to deflate in front of her, something that she didn't understand. For the past 28 years she had been nothing but confident and forward. However, she realized, that was Ruby and this is Red.

"Well thank you, Miss Lucas." Regina's voice spoke quietly from behind Ruby. The she-wolf turned, a shy smile on her face. The young woman looking directly into the Queen's eyes, trying to read her. She caught a glimpse of something in those deep pools before it vanished, like a flame being snuffed out.

"Don't mention it. I was actually here to ask for your help, that just happened I guess." She said, motioning with her hands to where everyone had been standing. But what she saw as explaining made her look like a flailing animal.

"I'm sure. What can I help you with?" The queen asked cautiously, raising a perfectly sculpted eyebrow at the young woman in front of her. _Of course there is something she wants in return,_ Regina thought. In her heart she felt a twinge of pain, she should have known that nobody would come to her aid without needing something of her. But she couldn't help but hope that maybe this time had been different.

"Well, now that the curse is broken I can turn again. Neither Granny or I have my cloak so I was wondering if you could help."

"You want me to find another way to avoid your transformation on the night of the full moon?"

"Yes." Ruby responded eagerly, bouncing lightly on her feet as she waited for Regina to say something. The brunette seemed deep in thought though, so she didn't interrupt her.

"I am not entirely sure how I am to go about preventing your transformation, but I have a few thoughts. I need to do some research before I can come up with a successful way to keep you human for the full moon." Regina answered slowly after a few moments of searching the deep corners of her mind for a solution. The truth was, she had absolutely no idea what she was going to do but she wasn't about to tell Ruby that.

Regina felt she needed to do this, like it was her duty. The young woman in many ways reminded her of herself. Ruby too had a bad past she wished to escape, a mistake she'd made that had led to the tarnishing of her life. A mistake that made her fear her own essence. She could see the pure fear reflected in Ruby's eyes at the thought of turning.

"Oh thank you! Thank you Regina!" The she-wolf exclaimed happily, a smile lighting up her features as she hugged the shorter brunette in front of her.

The Queen stiffened at the physical contact as Ruby's arms wrapped around her waist and placed her chin on the top of her head. After a few moments however, she felt herself relaxing into the embrace. The warmth emanating from the taller woman and the steady rhythm of her heartbeat against her ear mixed with her scent of rain and sugar; it was hard not to melt into her.

Once the young brunette realized what she'd done, she pulled away gently. Regina felt herself missing the embrace but it instantly shook off the feeling.

"Thank you, Regina. You have no idea how much this means to me."

"Think nothing of it, Miss Lucas."

Ruby gave her another small smile before leaving Regina's home, knowing that Granny would get angry with her if she didn't come back to finish her shift.

XxXxXx

It had been two weeks since the day Ruby sought out Regina for help, and she had absolutely nothing. She'd thoroughly searched both her home and her vault, coming up empty handed.

Regina refused to ask for Rumple's help, so she had made no progress. Ruby had checked in with her multiple times and she'd told her she was working hard to find some way to keep her from turning. If she had any success, she never said; leaving Ruby blissfully ignorant.

Extremely frustrated, Regina slammed the book she'd been looking through shut. The impact knocked a few books onto the floor with a loud thud. Sighing loudly, she stood to pick the books up from her floor. As the brunette kneeled down she saw one of the books had fallen open to a page entitled _'Transformation Stunting.'_

Hopefully she snatched it up and quickly looked over the page to see if it was what she needed. A smile tugged at her lips, feeling triumphant that she'd found something. Skimming the page, she came to the part she believed to be most useful.

 _The transformation of a wolf is a painful process no matter how short. Bones elongate at extreme rates and growing processes speed up. Transformations can't be stunted as long as the full moon is pulling to the wolf's essence. However, the transformation can be exchanged. For the night of a full moon two people can switch places, one taking on the full moon transformation while another remains in his/ her human state. This can be accomplished through a commutatio animarum enchantment._

Wasting no time, Regina began looking through her other books for the enchantment. As she opened to the page and read over the enchantment she reached for her phone and sent Ruby a text.

XxXxXx

It had been a slow day at the diner so Ruby had plenty of free time that she spent sitting behind the counter. Two weeks. Two weeks and Ruby was absolutely positive that Regina had nothing.

The brunette could do everything she tried to convince her, but Ruby knew. Regina could school her features, slip on that mask of indifference, but the younger woman could always tell. There was an unmistakeable guilt lingering in her dark eyes that Ruby recognized so well.

She couldn't blame her. Regina was doing everything she could to help her and that was all Ruby could ask for. Though she didn't want to turn, she understood that there was only so much magic could do.

Ruby was ready to take the rest of her shift off considering nobody had come in when she received a text.

 _Queenie: I just found something. Come see me when your shift ends._

As quickly as she could, she grabbed her things and left the diner to get to the mansion.

It took Ruby only five minutes to get to the mansion. She was almost 80% sure that she'd broken at least 5 laws. Too eager to care however, she arrived at the mansion and was greeted at the door instantly by Regina.

Ushering her inside, the two sat down at the table where Regina explained the enchantment in great detail. But once Ruby heard the fact of Regina taking on wolf form instead, she refused.

"No."

"No? What do you mean no, Ruby?!"

"I'm not going to make you take on that for me, Regina. Turning is painful and horrible, I won't put you in pain like that."

"I'm offering! Let me do this for you!"

The older brunette looked like she was almost in tears. She had searched for days, sacrificing multiple nights of sleep looking for some way to help only to be told that her help wasn't needed.

"No, Regina."

Regina growled, almost seeming much like a wolf herself as she became angry. "I didn't sacrifice days of life and hours to sleep to find this so you could turn it down. This is happening whether you like it or not. You came to me for help, and I'm helping."

Ruby could see the determination in her eyes, the fire and passion. She knew the second she refused again that the woman in front of her would probably explode. Knowing better than to protest more, she opted for finding a way to stop the enchantment. Regina wouldn't go through the change if she had anything to do with it.

XxXxXx

It was the night of the full moon. Ruby paced nervously, feeling the wolf paw at her insides; begging to be free, to run. Desperately, she tried to take her mind off of her urges. The urge to run, to howl, to sink sharp teeth into something.

Pacing, she counted her steps, the times she would pass the mahogany table sitting next to her bed. She mouthed the amount of times the floor creaked as she walked over it anxiously, putting up a finger every time she felt the wolf fight her.

She had decided that she wouldn't show up to Regina's. The brunette couldn't perform the enchantment if she wasn't present and Ruby sure as hell wasn't going to put her through the pain of transformation. She didn't wish that pain on her worst enemy.

Her thoughts were interrupted when purple smoke surrounded her. When it cleared, Regina stood in front of her, looking none too happy.

"You weren't going to come." It wasn't a question, but rather a statement.

"I wasn't."

"It's a good thing I knew your location then. Would you like a drink?"

"Uh yeah.. sure.."

Ruby didn't understand what Regina was doing. She had expected her to go into some rage about the fact that she'd worked hard to do this or something of that sort. But here she was, handing her a drink which she took gratefully.

Having only had Regina's cider once before, she downed it, loving the taste it left in her mouth. This time however, the taste was slightly off. The usually sweet tang of the apples was bitter. Maybe the cider was left out a little to long or- Ruby's head snapped up to look at the former queen.

"You didn't."

"I did, dear."

The feeling of Ruby's wolf slightly trickled from her body, into the other woman's. She felt weird, not feeling it paw at her; begging to be released. It was obvious that Regina felt some discomfort as well, not used to the sensation.

"I think it's time." Regina said after a few moments, locking eyes with Ruby.

"Regina, you don't have to do this. Taking on the wolf.. it's a lot harder than you think it is."

"I'm going to do this, there is no question about that."

"Alright."

The two walked out into the backyard, under the moonlight. After a few moments Regina felt the transformation start and fought to stop her cries of pain. As she transformed, there were loud and echoing cracks that made Ruby cringe.

After a minute or so the transformation ended, and Regina stood before her in wolf form. Slightly bigger than a regular wolf, but not so big that she was terrifying. Her fur was a silver, with patches of dark red here and there; the two colors morphing and making her look just as regal as she was in human form.

"Woah." Ruby whispered, slowly moving near her. When she was close enough, she ran her hand over Regina's back; feeling the soft texture of her fur under her fingers. They stood like that for a few minutes, in content silence, until Regina moved away from Ruby.

"I understand, go."

She bowed her head towards the younger woman before turning and taking off into the forest, leaving Ruby watching in awe after her.

XxXxXx

It had been two years since the night Regina took on the wolf. She had loved it, the feeling of exhilaration as she ran through the trees. Feeling the wind around her as she ran faster than she ever could have imagined.

After that experience, the two women had bonded. Regina had told Ruby with a smile about the feelings she experienced in that form, the good it brought her. With lots of help, eventually Ruby came to accept her wolf as part of herself.

She experienced the joy that Regina had that night, finally feeling at one with herself. The two had become closer and closer over weeks. It wasn't until one day that Ruby had gained the courage to tell Regina just how she felt.

Robin had hurt the brunette again, and she hadn't been seen by anyone for days. Terrified with worry, she had gone to the mansion and knocked for what seemed like hours. When Regina opened the door, Ruby wanted to cry. She looked so small, shrunken into herself with her puffy eyes.

There had been no words exchanged as Ruby stepped into the house and pulled her into an embrace. Regina had broke down then, sobbing hard into the younger woman. After a while, the crying had ceased and wordlessly, Ruby carried her up the stairs to her bedroom.

She had stayed with her that night, holding her close and gently stroking her hair comfortingly until the two drifted to sleep. The next morning the younger brunette had told her of her feelings and how Robin was extremely unworthy of her. It had taken some time for Regina to adapt to being loved and opening herself up, but when she did it was worth it.

The two were in love and happier than ever. Ruby had moved into the mansion and Regina loved waking up in her arms. The younger brunette had eventually turned her so that they could run together. Lying there, she realized that she had found her happy ending.

People may still treat her differently because of who she was, but she had Ruby there who saw just saw her as Regina; not the evil queen. She could run with the woman she loved during wolfs time, feeling that sense of freedom and happiness. She had all she needed, and this time she was never letting it go.


End file.
